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Making STEM Personal

March 29, 2013 - 3:51pm

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Occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are among the fastest growing fields, offering well-paying opportunities to better explore, understand, and improve the world. To celebrate Women’s History Month, DOE recently introduced an online Women @ Energy series that profiles DOE women involved in STEM., Included in the Women @ Energy series are OE’s Assistant Secretary Patricia Hoffman and Carol Hawk who manages the Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems Program.

In her profile, Pat Hoffman talks about being inspired by her aunt who worked in the scientific field, a woman who excited Pat’s imagination: “She told me about all of the different materials that were going to be introduced in the future…I like to explore ideas and concepts.” Pat notes that “it is an exciting time for electricity because we are at the forefront of really creating a change.” She encourages anyone interested in the field to be persistent and explains that a STEM background provides a good foundation for many careers.

Carol Hawk, in her profile, explains that “interesting things happen at the intersection of disciplines.” She urges us to show young children the wonder of physics and math in the natural world “at a very young age, before they start ‘self-selecting’ out of the science and technology fields.” Carol herself was inspired the beauty of physics in the real world: “A rainbow is as awe inspiring as the physics that governs the creation.”